Since the beginning of the barter system (that is, from the time people learned to share reliance on others to fulfill their wants), the expenditure of money has acquired multiple and various characteristics. For those of us not on the leading edge of anything, buying stuff boils down to housing, groceries, clothing, gasoline and then what I would generally label as personal retail expenditure (furnishings, artwork, automobiles, jewellery and accessories).
The question, “What have you done?” is not uncommonly posed in a variety of situations which strangely have nothing to do with one another. It is a question of wide usage with unrelated purpose. For example in its simplest format it may be an untainted question of fact. Or, what is more frequent, it may be a pernicious suggestion that what you have accomplished is not without a degree of ambivalence surrounding the tale of adventure. Or, it may not be a question at all, rather a bland signal that what you have done is preposterous (more an exclamation than an interrogation). Or – and this is where I have an especial interest – it is an enquiry into how (if at all) you have succeeded to unwind your life. It’s a general look at what, in my case, I’ve spent the past 75 years doing amidst the pitfalls and highlights.
Despite the large number of philosophical schools and their nuances, all philosophies are said to fall into one of two primary categories, defined in contrast to each other: idealism and materialism. The basic proposition of these two categories pertains to the nature of reality: the primary difference between them is how they answer two fundamental questions—what reality consists of, and how it originated. To idealists, spirit or mind or the objects of mind (ideas) are primary, and matter secondary. To materialists, matter is primary, and mind or spirit or ideas are secondary—the product of matter acting upon matter.
Usage of the term indulgence in my experience most often accompanies a calculated self-satisfaction. Such as indulging oneself in butter tarts. It is however also indicative of the extension of time for performance of an obligation; for example, indulgence for payment of a debt. Both indulgences share a degree of satisfaction (though the character switches from transparency to ambiguity). The more discernible difference perhaps is that in the first instance one indulges oneself; whereas in the second instance the indulgence is vicarious. Today I enacted the delivery of first-hand indulgence.
What little I know of tricycles is here rendered. It is an acquaintance which began precipitously on Key Largo one November at a time when I was anticipating knee replacement surgery in the upcoming months upon our return to Canada at the end of April. The day of our arrival on Key Largo I bought a Sun tricycle (which I have since sold to the neighbour next door from Boston). It was in my opinion a good tricycle though it had only one gear. The limitation was acceptable at sea level when everything is flat. Otherwise I would recommend a minimum of 8 gears which is what I have on my current Evo Latitude tricycle. I hasten to note however that even with the 8 gears the instrument is not transformed to a racing machine. A tricycle is by any account a ponderous vehicle. The larger seat of the Sun tricycle was an advantage.
Before the construction of the lighthouse, the rock had caused many shipwrecks because, except for a few hours a day at low tide, it lies just below the surface of the sea. By the turn of the 19th century, it was estimated that, in a typical winter, as many as six ships were wrecked on the rock. (In one storm, seventy ships had been lost off the east coast of Scotland.)
For this old fogey a busy day means going to the grocery store or having an early morning medical appointment in the city. Beyond that it’s weighing one’s worth, recollecting the past and pondering the future. Not exactly an ambitious enterprise. Indeed these idle conventions are more attuned to what to ignore than to what one wishes to capture or to be captured by. A succinct though by no means differential acknowledgement. In brief, I have given up convincing others or myself about what to think or do. The mere utility of doing otherwise is questionable for innumerable reasons. No longer have I the devoted self-interest of the tiny sparrow announcing itself from atop a springtime fence with its familiar melody.
Human relationships are complex. Leaving aside the labyrinth features of international relationships and the surreptitious character of nefarious or scandalous intent, those relationships which involve personal alliances are especially fraught with many different and connected parts. Normally one considers the duration of relationships of any description to be inexact and limited. But importantly it has as often been said of friendship that if it were legitimate from the start, it will last forever. Basically, true friends are forever aligned. I believe that to be true. Categorically. Even if there were an intervening disparity between the friends, I nonetheless believe that the authenticity of the initial relationship will survive any kerfuffle – although I accept that the recovery from the imbalance may provoke a prolonged period of distance and separation. But, as I say, foremost is my belief that true friends never lose that initial glue which brought them together. It is frequently echoed in the observation, “We picked up exactly where we left off!”
Today is one of those grey, rainy disconsolate days sustaining myriad excuses to do nothing but snooze and drift into afternoon melancholy. It’s Wednesday, nothing special about that. Just the middle of the week. The uncommon lack of traffic certified that vacuous detail. And yet…having said that…we were anxious to get our scheduled booster today from the pharmacy where the pharmacist was as anxious to inform us that we had received at her hand a Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty XBB.1.5 COVID-19. Whatever all that means. I had by contrast a more revealing confab with her about her studies at Dalhousie University and all the related matters which subsequently flowed from the opening of that unanticipated floodgate.
Coffee is best for me when served strong and chilled (not simply with added ice cubes). The strong feature I find is best captured by espresso, at the very least a “double” ( though I am never certain that it or anything beyond is propitious given the brewing method).
Espresso Italian: is a coffee brewing method in which a small amount of nearly boiling water is forced under pressure through finely ground coffee beans. From Italian caffè espresso (literally pressed out coffee).